Entries Tagged as 'Redistricting'

August 13th, 2018, 9:30pm by Sam Wang

This year, I don’t recommend giving to House races for two reasons. There are just too many of them. Over 80 districts are less Republican-leaning than Ohio’s 12th district, whose margin was razor-thin in the recent special election. Compared with the six key Senate races I’ve listed at left, your donations would be diluted by […]

August 1st, 2018, 12:00pm by Sam Wang

The Princeton Gerrymandering Project does nonpartisan analysis to understand and eliminate partisan gerrymandering, which has soared since 2011. Starting in 2018, we now do most of our work at a local level. Although the Supreme Court acknowledged the validity of our math (see our great explainer video), they still probably won’t act. State-level action can fill the […]

July 16th, 2018, 3:29pm by Sam Wang

When it comes to partisan gerrymandering, the Supreme Court whiffed. The road ahead for federal action is not looking great. However, that doesn’t mean it’s game over, as we reported today in The American Prospect. In fact, there’s considerable hope. We looked into the laws, constitutions, and political landscape in every state where there’s currently […]

June 26th, 2018, 7:40am by Sam Wang

In light of the recent rulings on partisan and racial gerrymandering from the Supreme Court, it’s time for reformers to go to the trenches. A magic bullet in the form of a ruling from the Supremes would have been great, but I’m not holding my breath. New in The American Prospect, Ben Williams, John O’Neill, […]

June 25th, 2018, 11:09am by Sam Wang

First, the partisan-gerrymandering news. The North Carolina case, Rucho v. Common Cause, was sent back for reconsideration (“vacate and remand”) in light of the Court’s decision in Gill v. Whitford. Retrying Rucho would take a while, so hopefully they will find a faster way. Now, to racial gerrymandering. In the last redistricting case of this […]

June 20th, 2018, 6:06pm by Sam Wang

Although I wasn’t thrilled to see the Supreme Court kick the can down the road, the Roberts decision and the Kagan concurrence are quite clarifying, logically speaking. These justices have, in some ways, sorted things out nicely.

June 18th, 2018, 10:33am by Sam Wang

From the opinion (click image to get whole decision):The Supreme Court has opinions on Gill v. Whitford and Benisek v. Lamone. First, the good news: the Court likes our math! The bad news: they think it answered a First Amendment claim, and they decided this was a Fourteenth Amendment case. Major points, in short: They […]

June 1st, 2018, 11:20pm by Sam Wang

Anyone interested in containing partisan gerrymanders is waiting for several major decisions from the Supreme Court this month. But no matter which way those decisions go, the next stage of reform will be local. For this reason, my team at the Princeton Gerrymandering Project is making plans to expand our research efforts, which bridge mathematics and […]

May 31st, 2018, 1:10pm by Will Adler

Alumni, welcome back for Reunions! This Saturday, as part of Princeton’s annual Reunions, Sam will be moderating a bipartisan panel on gerrymandering. Our new initiative, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, uses data analytics and the law to address gerrymandering. We’re working at the federal level (see our last-minute appeal to help the Supreme Court) and the […]

May 23rd, 2018, 8:51am by Sam Wang

The anti-labor Epic Systems decision reminds us that the Supreme Court is fundamentally conservative in its outlook – in the political sense, not a textualist sense. Edith Roberts has the roundup. FantasySCOTUS watch: I give you the top 16 punters. Gill v. Whitford: 9 guess affirm, 5 reverse. Benisek v. Lamone: 10 reverse, 5 affirm, […]